Shloka 23
आदित्यकर्म, त्रयीमयी वैष्णवी शक्तिः, सवितुरन्तर्यामी
The Sun’s Function and Vishnu’s Vedic Śakti within Savitṛ
पीतं तं द्विकलं सोमं कृष्णपक्षक्षये द्विज पिबन्ति पितरस् तेषां भास्करात् तर्पणं तथा
pītaṃ taṃ dvikalaṃ somaṃ kṛṣṇapakṣakṣaye dvija pibanti pitaras teṣāṃ bhāskarāt tarpaṇaṃ tathā
O twice-born one, when the dark fortnight ends, the Pitṛs drink that Soma, now diminished to but two measures; and for them, satisfaction (tarpaṇa) is likewise gained through the Sun.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Mechanism of lunar waning and the sustenance of Pitṛs via Soma and the Sun
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Concept: The Pitṛs are sustained by the waning Soma, and their tarpaṇa is also effected through the solar principle that governs ritual time and nourishment.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Perform śrāddha/tarpaṇa with attentiveness to tithi and the cosmic rhythms of Sun and Moon, treating ritual as participation in ṛta (order).
Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic functions (Soma/Sūrya) operate as divinely governed agencies within the Lord’s ordered body (jagat), sustaining distinct classes of beings.
FAQs
It marks the Moon’s extreme waning (near amāvasyā), when Soma is described as diminished; this becomes a ritual-cosmic signal connected to the Pitṛs and the timing of ancestral offerings.
He presents the luminaries as channels within cosmic order: the Pitṛs ‘drink’ Soma as it wanes, and they are also ‘satisfied’ through the Sun—linking tithi, light, and tarpaṇa into one regulated system.
Even when not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames Sun, Moon, time, and ritual law as operating under Viṣṇu’s sovereignty—cosmic regularity and dharma functioning as expressions of the Supreme Reality’s governance.